(wings of awakening)
Now having found the mountain
Looking up, covered in mist.
Heart sinks
Inner teacher says
"Stop; feel your feet
Look only at your next step."
Two legs
Pointed up the Mountain
Listening to the many voices
Waiting for that one word
That points the compass to that original face,
Pentacle within your own mind.
This leg of wisdom
That other leg,
Stiff, held by the old pains, memories, protections
Only moved when the heart softens.
Giving it that gentle touch.
"I have been with you, all of these years.
We will climb together."
Knowing all those that we have touched
Climb with us.
Dalai Lama's refrain calls us over and over again
"Don't give up"
Purification
Clouds covering the smallest
Wedge of light.
Standing in the puddles looking
For the moon.
Gone from this world.
Nowhere to be found—looking up
And down, in front, behind,
To each side: lost!
Seeking it—longing for it
Bending in every direction
Falling to my knees
Moon comes up to greet me.
First Day
Like a great blazing fire
Body came to rest on the cushion
Fired up to stay awake and present
Only to find bittersweet drifting off,
Old stories holding court
While body cried out
"Pay attention to me, I'm the most important. "
Everything demanding attention
Nobody's getting first choice today.
Maybe enlightenment can wait
Where are my car keys???
Medicine Pouch
Hesitantly, standing between worlds.
The gate is open, Dear heart.
What kind of medicine are you caring in your pouch, Pilgrim?
Turkey feathers, lizard's tails, a worm's body,
a small brush of deer hair,
a ray from the full Moon
a tattered picture of Shangri-La.
Is it enough these few things,
To stand by the high tide
Without being swept by the tsunami of your life?
Buddha whispered from that deep place within.
"Medicine pouch full,
You're enough;
These few things enough."
Opening your whole body/heart to the deep water
Pulling you out into the world
Everything held in the original ordinaryness,
A picture frame bigger than the cosmos.
A Better Me
I went looking for a better me today,
One that sparkled in the sun.
Inviting resistance and impatience to accompany me.
We again took the wrong fork in the road.
Bowing deeply: I went my own way
Leaving all the many voices behind.
The bushes inflamed by the spring sun
Gave completely to the bees
I knew right then!
"Surrendering to the bee, taking whatever it wants."
Nectar moved by invisible wings.
Calling my friends resistance and impatience back, holding myself, we were all together again, but nobody spoke this time,
The sky held us without questions.
The Cognizant Heart
The mirror unstained
Reflecting a spring day
Frogs entering with great songs
Thoughts thinking
Crows cawing
Old wounds calling
wonder of wonders
Ah! But the lunch line remembers,
the septic pump soaking up the darkness,
remembering to invite that part that limps
staggering under the weight
determined to allow the movie star
to embrace the cripple.
Bringing the luminous mind to bear
witness to the fire of the heart.
The Rim of Time
Hesitantly, standing between worlds.
The gate is open, Dear heart.
What kind of medicine are you caring in your pouch, Pilgrim?
Turkey feathers, lizard's tails, a worm's body,
a small brush of deer hair,
a ray from the full Moon
a tattered picture of Shangri-La.
Is it enough these few things,
To stand by the high tide
Without being swept by the tsunami of your life?
Buddha whispered from that deep place within.
"Medicine pouch full,
You're enough;
These few things enough."
Opening your whole body/heart to the deep water
Pulling you out into the world
Everything held in the original ordinaryness,
A picture frame bigger than the cosmos.